Chapter 16
16
KAEL
Focusing on preparing a meal, I tried not to imagine Mev in the lake behind me. It was difficult, periodic splashes of water reminding me I was not alone.
Mev. Not Mia.
Not some random woman who’d stumbled through a Gate that had been closed for nearly thirty years. How had I not pieced it together the moment she waved her hand this morning? I’d dismissed my instincts, something I’d been trained never to do. I could blame the woman herself, one who had unsettled me from the start, but the cause hardly mattered. That her true identity had never occurred to me, despite her age, despite her magic manifesting, was testament to Mev’s ability to keep such a thing secret as much as it was an indictment of my wavering focus.
She was getting out of the water.
The urge to look back was as strong as the one to comfort her had been. Despite her identity. Despite the fact that if my father knew I’d shown her even a hint of kindness, he would have my hide.
I comforted her and would do it again.
“That moonleaf sap worked perfect. It was just like soap.”
She stepped into my line of vision. Hair wet. Barefoot. Issa’s breeches hugging her hips in all the right places. I quickly looked away, back to the fire.
Remembering her dislike of being ignored, I made a sound that could be interpreted as “good.” The fact was, speaking too freely had done me more harm than it was worth throughout my life. My father did not take kindly to dissension, and the two of us rarely saw eye to eye.
My brother, Terran, was much better at talking.
Thankfully, I had other skills.
“What’s so funny?”
I looked up from the rabbit. “Pretty sure you wouldn’t want to know. Sit with me.”
Scrambling on the rock beside mine, Mev hugged her legs to her chest. I was struck with how vulnerable she looked. And beautiful too. But with a fire inside whose source was no longer a mystery.
“Your father is very powerful, Mev. Now that you’re here, your own power will begin quickly to manifest, as it has already.”
She reached out a hand and waved it. “I’ve already tried, but there’s nothing there. Just that one fluke this morning.”
“Oh, there’s something there. Trust me.”
She blinked. “I really wish I could.”
And there was the heart of our problem. My only path forward was honesty. It had always served me well, and I would trust in it again. Even if that honesty was a betrayal of my father.
“When I realized your true identity, my first thought was that my father might kill you.”
Mev’s eyes widened in fear. I quickly reassured her. “I will not be taking you to him.”
That fear turned to disbelief. “You won’t?”
“No, I won’t. His hatred for humans runs deep. He blames your father most, and I cannot trust his actions were I to bring you to him. I would like to believe he would be merciful, but pleas of your innocence will, I fear, go unheard. To him, you will be nothing more than King Galfrid’s daughter and a grave threat to our people.”
“I am no threat. My father.” She paused. “It’s odd, you know, to say those words. I thought ill of my father for so long, thinking he took advantage of my mother. That he drugged her and got her pregnant.”
As I’d done the first time, taking our meal from the fire, I allowed it to cool. “Why did you believe such a thing? She told you nothing?”
“She remembers nothing of this place. My mother can remember traveling to York, and attending a meeting, but little else except for stumbling into the dead of night from what we now know is The Crooked Key, and finding her way home. Pregnant. She assumed the worst, of course, and when I was old enough to know the truth, I did too. It was only when I found this”—she held up a ring she took from her pocket—“and a picture of my mother in York that I was determined to come solve the mystery that she just wanted to leave behind. I traveled to York with my best friend, Clara, and we found the pub where the photo was taken. When Jon realized who I was, he began to tell us about Elydor, but honestly? We thought he was crazy.”
“You never knew,” I said, my mind racing. “He must have found a way to erase her memory.”
“That’s what Jon said.”
Jon. He was not crazy at all. His family had a long history of keeping Elydor a secret, one my father, frankly, never thought they could keep. But the Harrows had proven both loyal and resourceful throughout the years.
“Your parents were very much in love. I would imagine it was difficult for her, believing she had been drugged, as you say, and taken advantage of in the worst possible way.”
“In love,” she murmured, looking up toward the sky.
I never really knew the queen but could easily see how the Aetherian king had fallen for her, if she was anything like the daughter. I grabbed the rabbit meat, tearing off a piece. Making my way to Mev’s rock, one large enough for us both, I handed it to her.
We ate in silence.
“If you’re not taking me to your father,” Mev said finally. “What do you plan to do with me?”
I didn’t mean to look at her in that way, but neither could I help the errant thoughts that ran through my mind. Ones I had to dismiss. My father would not be pleased when he learned of Mev, which he would. But he would be even more displeased if I developed an affinity toward the daughter of his most bitter enemy.
“Kael…”
“We will learn how you came through so it does not happen again. In the meantime, you must be trained. Coming into your magic without knowing how to wield it could be dangerous. For you. For me. For anyone you come in contact with.”
That surprised her. “You’re going to train me?”
“No.” I waved a hand around our camp. “I did not conceal us, fully expecting we will be followed by Lyra.”
“The woman you tried to kill?”
“She was never in any danger.”
“Didn’t seem like that to me.”
I stifled a smile.
“Why do you want her to find us after going through such extreme lengths to run from her?”
I cocked my head to the side, sure Mev could work that one out.
“I hate when you look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m an idiot. Just because I don’t know your ways, or how to use magic, or anything about Elydor… I’m actually pretty smart.”
“Are you now?”
“Yes.” Her chin lifted. “I am.”
I never doubted it for a moment. “Only an Aetherian can train you properly,” I said as she ate. “Lyra and I served on the Council together. She is also smart.” I received a glare for that one. “She comes from a noble family and is highly skilled in air magic. Most importantly, I trust her. As much as I can trust any Aetherian. I’d have preferred to bring you to my father, but that is now out of the question. This, it seems to me, is the next best alternative.”
I took a bite of rabbit, wishing I’d not sat so close to Mev. The urge to touch her was stronger than I cared for, but she would likely take offense if I moved away now.
“I want to go home.”
She said it so softly, I wondered if the words were meant for me or herself. Mev could not go home, not until we learned why she’d come through in the first place. Otherwise, we could not be certain it might not happen again. The fact was, we were still enemies. And I needed something from her as much now as ever.
There was one person who might persuade her to stay without being coaxed into it.
Her father.
Knowing it would be unavoidable once Lyra became involved, and also knowing my father would have my head for it, I considered one last time if this plan was the best course of action. Unfortunately, I had little choice.
“Do you not wish to meet your father?” I asked.
She’d been staring at the fire, but at that, Mev’s head whipped up, her eyes more blue than green now. Her hair, becoming whiter with each passing moment. How could I possibly have missed it, even concealed?
“At first,” she said, refusing more meat, “I just wanted to go home. Clara will be worried. And if I am gone too long, my mother will find out and lose her mind. I thought if I could escape you?—”
“You could not.”
She frowned. “I know that now.”
Mev could escape me, though, once her magic was fully formed. Asking Lyra to train her, to work with me, would be risky.
“Anyway… I just… of course I wish to meet him.”
She was scared. “He will be very glad to see you, Mev. Your father has been searching for a way to reopen the Gate since the moment your mother left.”
“You mean, since the moment she was kidnapped and sent through? Jon suspected my mother did not return freely, so I assume he was right? It was your father’s doing?”
I winced. “Aye, he was. And we have been battling with Aetheria since that very day.”
Her eyes widened. “You have?”
“I’ll spare you Elydorian politics and the whispers of war which began well before you and your mother left. For now, I need to tell you what to expect in the coming days.” She pushed a strand of still-wet hair behind her ear. “Why did you color your hair?”
Mev pulled the strand out to look at it herself. “I don’t know if my mother was more weary of explaining the unusual color away or if I was tired of being teased about it. I was still in elementary school when I’d convinced her to allow me to dye it blonde, and it’s been that way ever since.”
“I prefer this color. Even though it marks you as Aetherian.”
“It does?”
“Many have similarly colored hair, or silver hair like Lyra’s, and blue eyes. Just as the majority of Gyorians’ eyes and hair are darker, like the land whose magic we wield.”
“And the Thalassari?”
“The sun has tanned their skin, and their eyes are the colors of the sea, but no one shade of hair color predominates the water clan. It’s their lack of clothing, more than anything, that gives them away.”
“Lack of clothing?”
I shrugged. “They have an affinity for using very little of it.”
“What can they do? With their magic?”
“Manipulate water. Hold their breath for extended periods underwater. Create storms, though you can do that as well.”
Her eyes widened. “I can?”
“If you’re here long enough, aye. Aetherians can manipulate air which means they are able to wield storms and sound waves.”
“Meaning?”
She no longer hugged her knees. Mev had turned toward me and now sat with her legs crossed, waiting for my response.
There should be no reason for my hesitation. If Lyra found us, Mev wouldn’t just know about her magic, she’d be using it before long. But it wasn’t lost on me that giving this woman such power meant she’d be less controllable.
“Meaning, they can project whispers over long distances. Some more skilled or powerful Aetherians can levitate for short periods.”
“I saw Lyra do that. Can they fly?”
“Not exactly. More like keep themselves in the air for extended periods.”
“You said, more skilled or powerful. As if those are two different things?”
I doubted Mev realized she twirled a section of her hair. Watching her, I imagined using it as leverage to pull her into me and taste those lips of hers.
By the stones, the woman was much too enticing.
“Please don’t go caveman on me now.”
I understood her meaning, knowing more than I cared to about human history. “Some Elydorians are born with more natural abilities than others. Some train harder and become more skilled. Others, like your father, and mine, do both.”
“Who is more powerful?”
I hesitated, knowing the weight of my words. “It’s impossible to say for certain. Both are immensely powerful in their own right. Your father can command the very air we breathe. My father wields the land itself. Their magic is… different.”
“But who would win in a fight?” she pressed.
I sighed. “They’ve been enemies for many centuries, more so these past years, and their clashes have been devastating at times. In a direct confrontation, it would depend on many factors, including the terrain. In open air, your father might have the advantage. Underground or in rocky regions, my father would likely prevail. Their powers are so different that a direct comparison is almost meaningless.”
“So, it’s a stalemate?”
“In many ways, yes. That’s why their feud has dragged on for so long. Neither can gain a definitive upper hand, so the balance of power remains tenuous at best.”
“You are obviously very powerful too?”
“I am.”
“So why don’t you end the feud? Wouldn’t it be better if everyone got along?”
I didn’t blame Mev’s naiveté, knowing so little about Elydor. “That will never be possible.”
“How do you… Kael? What’s wrong?”
I jumped from our makeshift seat and bent one knee on the ground. Closing my eyes, I laid both hands on the grass and felt down to Elydor’s core.
Lyra hadn’t been the only one alerted to Mev’s presence when the Gate opened for her, but she had been the one tracking me. In case it was one of the others, I stood.
“Get inside,” I said to Mev. “Do not come out until I call for you.”
Mev didn’t move. Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. She hesitated and then jumped down, hands on her hips, and froze in place.
“Mev,” I said, a warning in my voice that she didn’t heed.
“Princess Mevlida,” I tried again, in a less commanding tone. “Please.”
“I liked just ‘princess’ better. But since you asked nicely that time…” She went inside the hut.
Whoever was coming was still far enough away that we could have run. Instead, I checked on Stormbreaker, tossed the remains of our meal into the fire, and waited.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long.